Up in arms: Rasheed leads PTI rally against mini-budget

Leader of opposition likens move to drone attack

LAHORE:

Leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly (PA) Mehmoodur Rasheed on Wednesday led a rally organised by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) against the government’s Rs40 billion tax plan.

The demonstrators, which also included PTI MPAs Aslam Iqbal, Nosheen Hamid and Shunila Ruth, gathered at the PA and marched to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. They also staged a sit-in in front of the assembly. The protesters raised anti-government slogans and carried placards inscribed with statements urging the government to withdraw the imposition of new taxes.

Calling on the government to retract the decision, Rasheed called for an immediate session of the PA to be convened on the issue. The leader of the opposition likened the additional taxes to a drone attack on the underprivileged. Rasheed said the government had failed to deliver on campaign promises. He alleged that the decision to impose additional taxes had been taken at the behest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The government should strive to rectify its spending priorities rather than impose new taxes,” Rasheed said. He said after making lofty claims about ridding the nation of the begging bowl the PML-N government had caused greater indebtedness. Rasheed said the party had submitted a resolution against the imposition of the taxes at the PA Secretariat. He said the PTI was determined to voice its dissent regarding the imposition of the taxes across all platforms.

Resolution against killing of army men

He also submitted on Wednesday a resolution condemning the killing of two Military Police personnel in Karachi by gunmen.

The resolution, which was submitted in the Punjab Assembly Secretariat, expressed profound sorrow over the incident on Karachi’s MA Jinnah Road in Karachi that resulted in the deaths of Lance Naik Arshad and Havaldar Rashid. Extending condolences to the families of the deceased, the resolution called on the federal and provincial governments to expedite efforts to curb elements involved in fanning terrorism. It also called on the governments to nab those involved in the killings.

White paper on government’s failures

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) issued a white paper on Wednesday to expose the government’s failure to prioritise education.

PTI provincial organiser Chaudhry Sarwar said the government’s inability to prioritise the education sector constituted a great failure on its part while releasing the document.

Sarwar, the former governor, rapped the government for failing to revamp education standards province-wide. He said this was the chief cause behind the increasing incidence of crime and unemployment. “Education, it seems has never been the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) priority. It (only) focuses on projects it can derive (maximum) political mileage from,” Sarwar said.

The paper claims that 50 per cent of boys of school-going age and 44 per cent of girls were out of school without giving any references. It goes on to assert that 18 per cent of school buildings across Punjab are derelict. The document asserts that 13 million of the province’s 28 million children were not going to school.

The white paper claims that most schools province-wide lack toilets. It says that 26 per cent schools were not electrified. The document claims that clean drinking water is not available across one in 20 schools. The white paper states, among a myriad of other claims, that 56 per cent children are compelled to leave school after finishing primary education due to poverty.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2015.